What is knowledge management?

When knowledge is not easily accessible within an organization, it can be incredibly costly to a business as valuable time is spent seeking out relevant information versus completing outcome-focused tasks.当组织内部的知识无法轻易获取时，企业将付出高昂的代价，因为宝贵的时间被浪费在寻找相关信息上，而不是用于完成以成果为导向的任务。

A knowledge management system (KMS) harnesses the collective knowledge of the organization, leading to better operational efficiencies. Knowledge‑management systems rely on a knowledge base. It provides a centralized place to store information and lets users access it quickly.知识管理系统 (KMS) 利用组织的集体知识，从而提高运营效率。知识管理系统依赖于知识库。它提供了一个集中存储信息的场所，并允许用户快速访问这些信息。

Companies with a knowledge management strategy achieve business outcomes more quickly as increased organizational learning and collaboration among team members facilitates faster decision-making across the business. It also streamlines more organizational processes, such as training and onboarding, leading to reports of higher employee satisfaction and retention.拥有知识管理战略的公司能更快地实现业务成果，因为增强的组织学习和团队成员之间的协作促进了整个业务的快速决策。它还简化了培训和入职等更多的组织流程，从而提高了员工的满意度和留任率。

The definition of knowledge management also includes three types of knowledge—tacit, implicit and explicit knowledge. Codified information largely distinguishes these types of knowledge.知识管理的定义还包括三种类型的知识：隐性知识、隐含知识和显性知识。编码信息在很大程度上区分了这些知识类型。

• Tacit knowledge: This type of knowledge is typically acquired through experience and it is intuitively understood. As a result, it is challenging to articulate and codify, making it difficult to transfer this information to other individuals. Examples of tacit knowledge can include language, facial recognition or leadership skills.隐性知识：这类知识通常是通过经验获得的，并被直观地理解。因此，它很难表达和编码，从而难以将这些信息传递给他人。隐性知识的例子包括语言、面部识别或领导技能。
• Implicit knowledge: While some literature equivocates implicit knowledge to tacit knowledge, some academics break out this type separately, expressing that the definition of tactic knowledge is more nuanced. While tacit knowledge is difficult to codify, implicit knowledge does not necessarily have this problem. Instead, implicit information has yet to be documented. It tends to exist within processes and it can be referred to as “know-how” knowledge.隐含知识：虽然一些文献将隐含知识与隐性知识等同起来，但一些学者将这种类型单独划分出来，认为隐性知识的定义更为细致。虽然隐性知识难以编码，但隐含知识不一定存在这个问题。相反，隐含信息尚未被记录。它往往存在于流程中，可以被称为“诀窍”知识。
• Explicit knowledge: Explicit knowledge is captured within various document types such as manuals, reports and guides, allowing organizations to easily share knowledge across teams. This type of knowledge is perhaps the most well-known and examples of it include knowledge assets such as databases, white papers and case studies. This form of knowledge is important to retain intellectual capital within an organization as well as facilitate successful knowledge transfer to new employees.显性知识：显性知识被捕获在各种文档类型中，如手册、报告和指南，使组织能够轻松地在团队之间共享知识。这种类型的知识可能是最广为人知的，其例子包括数据库、白皮书和案例研究等知识资产。这种形式的知识对于保留组织内的智力资本以及促进向新员工成功进行知识转移非常重要。

While some academicssummarize the knowledge management process as involving knowledge acquisition, creation, refinement, storage, transfer, sharing and use. This process can be synthesized a little further. Effective knowledge management system typically goes through three main steps:虽然一些学者将知识管理流程概括为涉及知识获取、创建、提炼、存储、转移、共享和使用，但这一过程可以进一步综合。有效的知识管理系统通常经历三个主要步骤：

1. Knowledge creation: During this step, organizations identify and document any existing or new knowledge that they want to circulate across the company.知识创建：在此步骤中，组织识别并记录他们希望在公司内传播的任何现有或新知识。
2. Knowledge storage: During this stage, an information technology system is typically used to host organizational knowledge for distribution. Information often needs to be formatted in a particular way to meet the requirements of that repository.知识存储：在此阶段，通常使用信息技术系统来托管组织知识以进行分发。信息通常需要以特定方式进行格式化，以满足该存储库的要求。
3. Knowledge sharing: In this final stage, processes to share knowledge are communicated broadly across the organization. The rate in which information spreads will vary depending on organizational culture. Companies that encourage and reward this behavior will certainly have a competitive advantage over other ones in their industry.知识共享：在最后阶段，共享知识的流程会在整个组织内广泛传播。信息传播的速度将取决于组织文化。鼓励和奖励这种行为的公司肯定会在行业中比其他公司更具竞争优势。

There are several tools that organizations use to reap the benefits of knowledge management. Examples of knowledge management systems can include:组织使用多种工具来获得知识管理的益处。知识管理系统的例子包括：

• Document management systems act as a centralized storage system for digital documents, such as PDFs, images and word-processing files. These systems enhance employee workflows by enabling easy retrieval of documents, such as lessons learned.文档管理系统充当数字文档（如 PDF、图像和文字处理文件）的集中存储系统。这些系统通过实现对经验教训等文档的轻松检索，增强了员工的工作流程。
• Content management systems (CMS) are applications, which manage web content where end users can edit and publish content. These platforms are commonly confused with document management systems, but CMSs can support other media types, such as audio and video.内容管理系统 (CMS) 是管理 Web 内容的应用程序，最终用户可以在其中编辑和发布内容。这些平台常与文档管理系统混淆，但 CMS 可以支持其他媒体类型，如音频和视频。
• Intranets are private networks that exist solely within an organization, which enable the sharing of enablement, tools and processes within internal stakeholders. While they can be time-consuming and costly to maintain, they provide several groupware services, such as internal directories and search, which facilitate collaboration.内部网是仅存在于组织内部的专用网络，能够实现内部利益相关者之间赋能、工具和流程的共享。虽然维护它们可能既耗时又昂贵，但它们提供了多种群件服务，如内部目录和搜索，从而促进了协作。
• Wikis can be a knowledge management tool given its ease of use. They make it easy to upload and edit information, but this ease can lead to concerns about misinformation as workers sometimes update them with incorrect or outdated information.维基 (Wikis) 因其易用性而成为一种知识管理工具。它们使上传和编辑信息变得容易，但这种易用性可能导致对错误信息的担忧，因为员工有时会用不正确或过时的信息更新它们。
• Data warehouses aggregate data from different sources into a single, central, consistent data store to support data analysis, data mining, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Data is extracted from these repositories so that companies can derive insights, empowering employees to make data-driven decisions.数据仓库将来自不同来源的数据聚合到一个单一、集中、一致的数据存储中，以支持数据分析、数据挖掘、人工智能 (AI) 和机器学习。数据从这些存储库中提取，以便公司可以得出洞察，从而使员工能够做出数据驱动的决策。

While knowledge management solutions can be helpful in facilitating knowledge transfer across teams and individuals, they also depend on user adoption to generate positive outcomes. As a result, organizations should not minimize the value of human elements that enable success around knowledge management.虽然知识管理解决方案有助于促进跨团队和个人的知识转移，但它们也依赖于用户的采用才能产生积极的成果。因此，组织不应低估促进知识管理成功的人为因素的价值。

• Organizational culture: Management practices will affect the type of organization that executives lead. Managers can build learning organizations by rewarding and encouraging knowledge-sharing behaviors across their teams. This type of leadership sets the groundwork for teams to trust each other and communicate more openly to achieve business outcomes.组织文化：管理实践将影响高管所领导的组织类型。管理者可以通过奖励和鼓励团队内部的知识共享行为来建立学习型组织。这种领导方式为团队相互信任和更开放地沟通以实现业务成果奠定了基础。
• Communities of practice: Centers of excellence in specific disciplines provide employees with a forum to ask questions, facilitating learning and knowledge transfer. In this way, organizations increase the number of subject matter experts in a specific area of the company, reducing dependencies on specific individuals to execute certain tasks.实践社区：特定学科的卓越中心为员工提供了一个提问的论坛，促进了学习和知识转移。通过这种方式，组织增加了公司特定领域的主题专家数量，减少了对特定个人执行某些任务的依赖。

Armed with the right tools and strategies, knowledge management practices have seen success in specific applications, such as:凭借正确的工具和策略，知识管理实践在特定应用中取得了成功，例如：

• Onboarding employees: Knowledge management systems help to address the huge learning curve for new hires. Instead of overwhelming new hires with a “data dump” in their first weeks, continually support them with knowledge tools that will give them useful information at any time. Learn more员工入职：知识管理系统有助于解决新员工巨大的学习曲线问题。不要在入职的前几周用“数据倾倒”让新员工不知所措，而是用知识工具持续支持他们，让他们随时获得有用的信息。了解更多
• Day-to-day employee tasks: Enable every employee to have access to accurate answers and critical information. Access to highly relevant answers at the right time, for the right person, allows workforces to allocate less time looking for information and more time on activities that drive business. Learn more日常员工任务：使每位员工都能获得准确的答案和关键信息。在正确的时间为正确的人提供高度相关的答案，使员工能够减少寻找信息的时间，并将更多时间用于推动业务的活动上。了解更多
• Self-serve customer service: Customers repeatedly say they’d prefer to find an answer themselves, rather than call support. When done well, a knowledge management system helps businesses decrease customer support costs and increase customer satisfaction. Learn more自助客户服务：客户反复表示，他们更愿意自己找到答案，而不是致电支持部门。如果做得好，知识管理系统可以帮助企业降低客户支持成本并提高客户满意度。了解更多

Companies experience several benefits when they embrace knowledge management strategies. Some key advantages include:当公司采用知识管理策略时，会获得多项益处。一些主要优势包括：

• Identification of skill gaps: When teams create relevant documentation around implicit or tacit knowledge or consolidate explicit knowledge, it can highlight gaps in core competencies across teams. This insight provides valuable information to management to form new organizational structures or hire supplementary resources.识别技能差距：当团队围绕隐含或隐性知识创建相关文档，或整合显性知识时，它可以突出团队核心竞争力方面的差距。这一洞察为管理层提供了宝贵的信息，以形成新的组织结构或聘请补充资源。
• Make better informed decisions: Knowledge management systems arm individuals and departments with knowledge. By improving accessibility to current and historical enterprise knowledge, your teams can upskill and make more information-driven decisions that support business goals.做出更明智的决策：知识管理系统为个人和部门提供了知识。通过提高对当前和历史企业知识的可访问性，您的团队可以提升技能并做出更多支持业务目标的以信息为驱动的决策。
• Maintains enterprise knowledge: If your most knowledgeable employees left tomorrow, what would your business do? Practicing internal knowledge management enables businesses to create an organizational memory. Knowledge held by your long-term employees and other experts, then make it accessible to your wider team.维护企业知识：如果明天您最有知识的员工离职了，您的企业会怎么做？实践内部知识管理使企业能够建立组织记忆。将长期员工和其他专家掌握的知识，提供给更广泛的团队访问。
• Operational efficiencies: Knowledge management systems create a go-to place that enables knowledge workers to find relevant information more quickly. This efficiency reduces the amount of time on research, leading to faster decision-making and cost-savings through operational efficiencies. Increase productivity not only saves time, but also reduces costs.运营效率：知识管理系统创建了一个首选场所，使知识工作者能够更快地找到相关信息。这种效率减少了研究时间，通过运营效率实现了更快的决策和成本节约。提高生产力不仅节省了时间，还降低了成本。
• Increased collaboration and communication: Knowledge management systems and organizational cultures work together to build trust among team members. These information systems provide more transparency among workers, creating more understanding and alignment around common goals. Engaged leadership and open communication create an environment for teams to embrace innovation and feedback.增强协作和沟通：知识管理系统和组织文化共同作用，在团队成员之间建立信任。这些信息系统在员工之间提供了更高的透明度，围绕共同目标创造了更多的理解和一致性。积极的领导和开放的沟通为团队拥抱创新和反馈创造了环境。
• Data security: Knowledge management systems enable organizations to customize permission control, viewership control and the level of document-security to ensure that information is shared only in the correct channels or with selected individuals. Give your employees the autonomy to access knowledge safely and with confidence.数据安全：知识管理系统使组织能够自定义权限控制、查看控制和文档安全级别，以确保信息仅在正确的渠道中或与选定的个人共享。让您的员工能够安全且自信地访问知识。